Fire & rescue journal

JOURNAL
Fire & Rescue
A publication of the North Carolina Department of Insurance Office of State Fire Marshal
Safety Advocates Join Forces During the FLSE
Conference and SKNC Annual Meeting
Spring 2008
What’s Hot Inside
Fire Chief of the Year Awards..............................................3-4....................................Live Fire Revisited: Parsippany, N.J.
Cathy Lohr Honored with Lifetime Achievement Award..........5....................................... N.C. Earns Pro Board Accreditation
OSFM Wishes Bonnie Harris a Happy Retirement.................6-7...................................Looking Back: Downtown Burlington
Looking Forward: What is Accreditation? ............................8-9...........2008 N.C. Fire Service Reference Manuals Available
Inspection Tips:................................................................... 10.........................................Calculating The Needed Fire Flow
The Pinehurst Resort was
practically bursting at the
seams with attendees from
both the Safe Kids North
Carolina Annual Meeting and
the North Carolina Fire and Life
Safety Educators Conference at the
beginning of February. More than
300 injury prevention advocates
from across North Carolina
descended on the hotel to attend
the conferences, which were held
back to back.
Safe Kids North Carolina annual
meeting kicks off the week’s events
With more than 140
representatives attending from
Safe Kids coalitions statewide,
the Safe Kids North Carolina
annual meeting continues to
provide participants with safety
updates and innovative ideas to
take back to their communities.
Daily seminars ran the gamut of
topics from new ways to reach
at-risk communities to how
to be a Safe Kids champion to
innovative fundraising approaches.
Participants also heard from
representatives of Safe Kids
Worldwide about updates at the
national and international level,
as well as breakout sessions that
discussed hot topics in the injury
prevention industry like ATV
safety, residential sprinklers and
carbon monoxide safety.
The annual meeting also
provided a chance for
Safe Kids North Carolina (SKNC)
to recognize coalitions’ and other
advocates’ efforts during the
past year. A memorable moment
came as a surprise to Insurance
Commissioner Jim Long when
SKNC announced him to be
the inaugural recipient of the
Chairman’s Award, presented
for long-term commitment and
dedication to injury prevention for
children 14 and under.
“I was surprised and honored to
receive this award,” Commissioner
Long said. “Safe Kids holds a
special place in my heart, and
I’m so proud to be part of an
organization that’s in the business
of saving kids’ lives.”
Commissioner Long currently
chairs the SKNC board of
directors. For a complete list of
Safe Kids NC award winners, see
page 11.
Fire and Life Safety Educators
conference empowers educators
The Fire and Life Safety
Educators, Central Region
hosted its 32nd annual educator
conference during the SKNC
annual meeting. Because so many
participants were already in town
for the SKNC meeting, it was the
perfect opportunity to hold pre-conference
classes for Fire and Life
continued on page 11...
Annual award winners at the Safe Kids North Carolina annual meeting. Pictured left to right, Judy Hawkins, Cleveland County Coalition Coordinator of the Year;
Insurance Commissioner Jim Long; and Joanie Mabry from Cleveland County Safe Kids.
The Fire & Rescue Journal
From the Commissioner’s Desk
The planning has started, and
August will be here before
you know it. Once it is here,
it will be time for a great North
Carolina fire service tradition —
the South Atlantic Fire Expo
(SAFE), hosted by the N.C. State
Firemen’s Association and N.C.
Association of Fire Chiefs. Like
last year, we moved slightly west
and will meet in Winston-Salem,
Aug. 28-30.
Of course, like every other year,
the conference will kick off with a
golf tournament, this year at the
Oak Valley Golf Course. Now, I’m
not a big golfer, but I know Tim
Bradley and Larry Hughes will be
there to show that OSFM knows
how to have a good time.
Be sure to check out the more
than 100 industry-related vendors
who will be able to show you
the latest gear and equipment.
They’ve promised to have the
latest innovations in equipment,
apparatus, protective gear, tools
vehicles and more on display.
While the vendors can show
you gear that your department
might want, the workshops this
year will provide you with new
information that you can use.
More than 20 seminars will
cover issues ranging from Fire
Team USA efforts and updates
to leadership training to an
electrical safety course sponsored
by Progress Energy. These
workshops will be the best yet,
and I encourage you to take full
advantage of them.
I enjoy this conference year
in and year out, and I’m looking
forward to August. By now
you’ve probably heard that I am
retiring from my post as insurance
commissioner and state fire
marshal. I’m not going anywhere
just yet — God willing, I’ll be here
until my term ends in January
2009. But just because I’m leaving
this office doesn’t mean that
you won’t see me at the 2009 or
2010 conferences and beyond. I
have said it before, but working
as your state fire marshal is one
of my favorite parts of the job. I
always enjoy meeting with you
and hearing about your triumphs
and challenges; it reaffirms what
I already know — that North
Carolina’s fire and rescue service is
truly outstanding. I am honored to
have been a part of it.
Upcoming Chief’s Conference Promises to
Serve You Well
JOURNAL
Fire & Rescue
Published by the North Carolina Department of Insurance Office of State Fire Marshal
1201 Mail Service Center • Raleigh, North Carolina 27699
Jim Long, Insurance Commissioner & State Fire Marshal
Wayne Goodwin, Assistant Commissioner
Tim Bradley, Senior Deputy State Fire Marshal
Executive Editor
Chrissy Pearson, Director of Public Information
Managing Editor
Chris Best, Supervisor, Research and Program Development
Associate Editor
Kristin Milam, Assistant Director of Public Information
Graphic Designer
Trisha Tripp
Editorial Assistant
Karen Holder
The Fire & Rescue Journal is a quarterly publication of the
N.C. Department of Insurance Office of State Fire Marshal
1202 Mail Service Center • Raleigh, NC 27699
Questions, comments or story ideas should be directed to
Chris Best at 919-661-5880 x332 or cbest@ncdoi.net.
To sign up for the mailing list or to submit an address change, contact
Chrissy Pearson at 919-733-5238 or cpearson@ncdoi.net.
3,200 copies of the Journal, which is funded through a grant from the North
Carolina Association of Insurance Agents, were printed and mailed at a cost of
$2979.92 of $1.2956 per copy.
by Insurance Commissioner and State Fire Marshal Jim Long
2008 Mid-Winter Chiefs Conference a Success
More than 200 members of the
N.C. Fire Chiefs Association met
in Atlantic Beach for the annual
Mid-Winter Conference held
the first weekend in February.
Participants attended 10 training
sessions that covered topics
ranging from residential sprinkler
systems to how to be effective
while dealing with generational
issues in the fire service.
One of the hot topics covered
during the conference was the
much-talked-about junior member
standard. The Junior Member
Forum provided insight into the
development of the standard and
the importance of protecting our
junior members.
In its business meeting, the
association approved the IMAS
plan to meet all of the guidelines
set forth from the International
Association of Fire Chiefs.
The latest updates to the North
Carolina Fire Service Reference
Manual were given out on CD
to all the participants at the
conference; the manual is also
available online at
www.ncafc.com.
The 2009 Mid-Winter
Conference will be held at
Wrightsville Beach Feb. 6-8; the
annual golf tournament will be
Feb. 5. Mark your calendars now
and plan to attend this wonderful
conference so we can make a
difference in the leadership of
North Carolina’s fire service!
Davie Summey is a fire rating
inspector with OSFM.
Spring 2008
During the North Carolina
Association of Fire Chiefs
Mid-winter Conference
held in Atlantic Beach in February,
Conover Fire Chief Mark Hinson
and Warrenton Fire Chief Walter
Gardner received the Chief of the
Year awards for a career chief and
volunteer chief, respectively.
Chief Hinson has been Conover
Fire Department’s chief since
joining the department in 2003.
Since beginning his service in
Conover, Chief Hinson has been
actively involved with the Catawba
County Firefighters’ Association,
and currently serves as its
vice president. Through this
organization, Chief Hinson
has had an instrumental
role in implementing group
purchasing throughout the
fire service, and he currently
chairs the equipment committee
working closely with all
county departments ordering
hoses, pagers, foam and other
equipment that the departments
require.
Chief Hinson is also a
member of the International
Association of Fire Chiefs,
National Fire Protection
Association, North Carolina
Society of Instructors, North
Carolina State Firemen’s
Association and the North
Carolina Association of Fire
Chiefs.
In 2006, Chief Hinson
earned his associate’s
degree in fire protection
technology, and he
plans to begin work on
a fire service protection
bachelor’s degree at the
University of North
Carolina Charlotte this
fall. Congratulations
to Chief Mark Hinson
for his contribution to
North Carolina’s fire
service!
Chief Walter
Gardener has been
the administrative officer for
Warrenton Rural Volunteer Fire
Department since 1973, when
he took over the post from his
father. He played a pivotal role
in creating recognized rural fire
districts in Warren
County in the late
1970s, and also helped
create service districts
to provide individual
property tax districts for
each of the county’s fire
departments.
Since becoming
Warrenton’s chief
in 2002, Chief Gardener has
successfully applied for and
received three FEMA Assistance to
Firefighters grants. He also worked
to combine the Warrenton and
Warrenton Rural fire departments
under one roof in 2006 — a
station that he helped to plan,
design and construct and is valued
at $1.8 million.
Not only does he serve as the
Warrenton Fire Department chief,
but Chief Gardener also serves as
the Town of Warrenton’s mayor. In
this role, he has been appointed by
the N.C. League of Municipalities
as its representative on the state
Fire & Rescue Commission,
where he has been appointed to
the certification board and acts as
the Commission’s ethics liaison.
Congratulations to Chief Walter
Gardener for his contribution to
North Carolina’s fire service!
Fire Chief of the Year Awards Presented at Mid-Winter Conference
(Above) Chief Hinson receives the Fire Chief of the Year award from
Chief Walker and Ken Mullen. (Left) Chief Walter M. Gardner Jr. and his wife, Mishew.
During the past several years
the fire and rescue service has
seen numerous new reference
manuals hit the market. These
new manuals have raised a lot
of concerns — mainly regarding
testing procedures. While the
Department of Insurance OSFM
does not recommend or endorse
one reference manual over another,
we understand their importance as
a part of training and preparedness
for fire and rescue agencies. But as
you choose one to use in training,
are you confused about which
reference manual is right for your
department?
OSFM certifications are based
on the National Fire Protection
Association’s standards, but not
all reference manuals follow
NFPA. Therefore it is essential
that instructors take the time to
determine that their teaching
material, including the prewritten
lesson plans and presentations,
covers OSFM’s terminal and
enabling objectives based
on NFPA’s job performance
requirements (JPRs). Without
meeting these standards, a student
will not receive the requirement
information, won’t have adequate
preparation and will require skills
repair. Basically, the key to using
any reference manual is to be
prepared; as John Maxwell said,
“it’s better to prepare than to
repair.”
The following steps can help
make sure the manual you choose
will properly prepare your class:
1. Assessment — look over the
JPRs and make sure that your
class meets all of the stated
objectives.
2. Alignment — make sure
that the class flows well and
that you, as an instructor,
are familiar with and fully
understand the material and
presentation.
3. Attitude — prepare mentally
and physically for teaching a
course; if you do not have the
right attitude, the students’
training experience will suffer.
4. Evaluation — confirm that all
required information has been
covered and that your students
understand each learning
objective.
While OSFM recommends
instructors teach to the provided
lesson plan, the choice of which
training and reference material is
used is up to the instructor or the
Authority Having Jurisdiction.
Regardless of which manual is
used, it is your responsibility as an
instructor to cover the NFPA JPRs
and make sure the class is as well-prepared
and educated as possible.
Matt Thorpe is a training
specialist with the Research and
Program Development division of
OSFM. He can be reached at (919)
661-5880 or mthorpe@ncdoi.net.
Instructors: How do you Choose the Right Reference Manual?
The Fire & Rescue Journal
Live Fire Training Revisited:
Parsippany, New Jersey; 1992
The Fire & Rescue Journal presents another review of a live fire training incident which, due to its tragic outcome, guided the direction of
the NFPA 1403 standard into the document that it is today.
As we continue to explore the back-stories and circumstances that have led to the incidents shaping the NFPA 1403 landscape, we find that
most if not all have a common thread —these tragedies have occurred while fire departments were attempting to accomplish valid training
objectives by utilizing the combustible products to provide realistic conditions. Unfortunately, too frequently the result is disastrous. Still,
these serve as painful lessons learned that will hopefully save others in the fire service from suffering a similar fate.
Parsippany-Troy Hills, N.J.,
1992: the Greystone Park
Fire Department holds a
recruit training class that ends in
tragedy. The training curriculum
for the recruit class was similar to
the requirements for Firefighter I
certification, with approximately
90 contact hours for the entire
course. The fire chief reviewed
the lesson plans and approved
the training location and facility
prior to the start of the course, but
this doesn’t prevent the class from
going terribly wrong.
Made up of 19 recruit
firefighters from five area
departments, the class was
taught by Assistant Chief John
Hund of the Greystone Park Fire
Department. Though a fellow
officer from Greystone Park
assisted Chief Hund during the
course, no other instructors were
there the day of the incident and
no safety officer was present. One
student did not attend the class
that day, leaving Chief Hund
alone with 18 rookie firefighters
preparing to encounter what, for
most, would be their first live fire.
The purpose of the training
exercise was to “expose the trainees
to heat,” and the proposed
training would have the recruits
perform search and rescue drills
while inside an old school bus
located in an unused portion
of the local sewage treatment
plant. Incidentally, the sewage
treatment plant was located only
a couple of miles from the Morris
County Police and Fire Academy,
a modern training facility that
housed all of the necessary
dedicated facilities for conducting
live fire evolutions, including a
certified burn building. Also of
note, Morris County had issued
a directive more than three years
prior stating that no live burn
training would be allowed in
Morris County except at the Fire
and Police Academy. Finally,
permission was neither sought nor
granted to conduct the exercise
from the state’s Department
of Environmental Protection
and Energy, which at the time
prohibited open burning across
New Jersey except in permanent
fire training facilities.
These details bring us back
to the school bus. The 1976
International Harvester had
been used for over two years as
a “burn facility,” donated by the
local board of education. The fire
department welded steel plates
over the windows and removed
the student seats from the interior.
Inside the bus were several 55-
gallon drums divided in two.
These barrels held kerosene soaked
wood scraps used to produce heat
and smoke. Just inside the back
door were a partially burned heavy
truck tire, a wooden door and a
damaged five-gallon container of
fuel.
An upholstered, full-length,
foam-cushioned couch was placed
along the driver’s side wall of the
bus, approximately two-thirds
of the way toward the front.
Shredded paper was stuffed
under the cushions to propagate
fire growth, and a flare was
placed between the cushions to
ignite the fire. The rear door of
the bus was closed, and Chief
Hund told the students to get
into their gear and prepare to
enter the bus. The assistant chief
failed to check any of the recruits’
personal protective equipment
prior to beginning the drill, nor
did he require that the students
check each other’s gear. The bus
was allowed to burn for nearly
10 minutes before the first group
was told to enter through the rear
door, crawl past the burning couch
and exit out the front door. Chief
Hund told the recruits that the
purpose of the evolution was to
make them “feel heat.”
As the first crew entered the
bus, heavy black smoke poured
out of the back door. Three
rookie firefighters — Anthony
Filippone, Jeffrey Berry and
Richard Van Orden — led the
way, with Chief Hund fourth in
line. Two other students — Leno
Rocha and Guy Ricker — brought
up the rear of the line. Seconds
after the group entered the bus,
a flashover occurred. Just prior
to the flashover, screams were
heard coming from inside the
bus. Witnesses believe that these
first screams were from Firefighter
Filippone, the recruit leading the
team and deepest into the bus.
Firefighter Van Orden, third in
line, reported hearing Filippone’s
screams just before his own echoed
out of the bus.
Meanwhile, Chief Hund
realized that the interior of the
bus was becoming untenable and
quickly exited back through the
rear door, pushing Rocha and
Ricker out with him. Neither
Hund nor these two firefighters
were injured, but the first three
recruits were now trapped alone
inside as the bus burned unabated.
Back inside the bus, Firefighter
Berry had never imagined heat
such as that he was feeling. At
first he thought, “Man, this is the
real deal, this must be what it is
supposed to be like,” as he tried
to follow Firefighter Filippone
through the dilapidated bus. Then
it suddenly grew hotter — too
hot, too fast. Berry felt like his
very skin was on fire, and his
excitement turned to panic. As
Berry looked toward the ceiling
of the bus, the face shield on his
helmet evaporated. Already past
the seat of the fire, Berry began
scrambling toward the front of
the bus, but because the students
had not performed a walk-through
prior to the evolution,
even a seemingly simple structure
such as a school bus became an
unknown maze of fire and debris.
He was aware that Filippone was
somewhere in front of him, and
could hear what he thought was
air escaping from Filippone’s
SCBA. Berry desperately tried
to search for Filippone, but
the extreme heat forced him to
continue his retreat toward the
front of bus.
An engine company from
nearby Denville Fire Department
was on the scene that day; the
crew of the engine was supposed
to simply observe the training,
with no tasks assigned to them.
As conditions deteriorated, the
engine’s crew realized what was
happening but could not respond
until they donned their own
protective equipment. Upon
reaching the bus, Denville’s
Lieutenant Dunn and Firefighter
Kearns tried to make entry but
found the front doors hopelessly
jammed. Crews finally were able
to use a halligan tool to break out
the glass and force the doors open.
(An investigation after the incident
revealed that the mechanism
for opening the front doors was
broken and jammed, rendering it
inoperable long before the day of
the training exercise.) When the
doors gave way, a wave of heat and
smoke enveloped the firefighters at
the front of the bus, causing them
to retreat temporarily.
Once the front doors were
open, Firefighters Berry and Van
Orden emerged from the bus,
their turnout gear smoking. They
were both hosed down with a
booster line off the Denville
continued on page 6...
A 1976 International Harvester school bus was
used for search and rescue drills under live fire
conditions. A flashover occurred while five students
and one instructor were inside, trapping three rookie
firefighters inside the inferno.
Spring 2008
Cathy Lohr Receives 2008 B.T. Fowler Lifetime Achievement
Award from FLSE State Council
In 2007 when the North
Carolina Fire and Life Safety
Education Council decided to
establish a Lifetime Achievement
Award for fire and life safety
educators, the discussion that took
place was brief and to the point.
The members knew what they
wanted: to recognize an individual
who was not only dedicated to
and passionate about fire and life
safety, but also had made a lifetime
commitment to the cause. The
resulting award — the B.T. Fowler
Lifetime Achievement Award —
was presented to Cathy Lohr at
the Fire and Life Safety Educator’s
conference in February.
Lohr is known to many as
North Carolina’s “first lady of
fire safety,” and she is a long time
inspiration to fire departments
across the state. As a member
of the Fire and Life Safety
State Council and Residential
Sprinkler Alliance she works
tirelessly coordinating youth fire
safety programs and fire service
conferences. She also worked on
the fire safe cigarette initiative.
Lohr retired from the Department
of Insurance Office of State Fire
Marshal in 1995 after working
for 17 years in the fire and rescue
training division. Congratulations
to Cathy Lohr for her
contributions to North Carolina’s
fire and life safety community!
About B.T. Fowler
B.T. Fowler retired from the
Raleigh Fire Department in 1986
after 34 years of service, and
remained active in fire prevention
efforts in North Carolina for
more than 50 years. He continues
to serve as a lifetime member of
the N. C. Fire and Life Safety
Educator State Council and is
well-known by the state’s fire
service for his work. He never
turns down an opportunity to
educate his community on fire
safety, is a strong advocate for
senior citizens fire safety programs,
and a friend and mentor to
everyone he meets.
B.T. Fowler joins Cathy Lohr, recipient of the 2008 B.T. Fowler Lifetime Achievement Award, and Insurance
Commissioner Jim Long for at the Fire and Life Safety Educator’s Conference awards banquet.
North Carolina Gains Pro Board Accreditation
North Carolina was approved for the following:
Instructor I NFPA 1041 2002 Edition
Instructor II NFPA 1041 2002 Edition
Fire Officer I NFPA 1021 2002 Edition
Fire Officer II NFPA 1021 2002 Edition
Fire Officer III NFPA 1021 2002 Edition
Fire Inspector I NFPA 1031 2003 Edition
Fire Inspector II NFPA 1031 2003 Edition
Fire Inspector III NFPA 1031 2003 Edition
Fire Life Safety Educator I NFPA 1035 2005 Edition
Fire Life Safety Educator II NFPA 1035 2005 Edition
Fire Life Safety Educator III NFPA 1035 2005 Edition
The Office of State Fire
Marshal’s Fire and Rescue
Commission attempt to gain
ProBoard certification finally
came to a
successful
end at the
ProBoard’s
annual
conference
in Tampa,
Fla. The Fire
and Rescue
Commission
joined the
Minnesota
Fire Service
Certification
Board, the Safety and Technical
Rescue Association and the
Vancouver Island Emergency
Response Academy as this
year’s inductees into the
ProBoard system.
North Carolina’s
certification process began in
2005, and ProBoard officials
made their final site visit in
January. “Back in January, the
site team noted in their exit
report that North Carolina’s
program was ‘above average’ in
the way test banks are handled
and certificates issued,”
explained Steve Sloan, the
Commission’s deputy director.
During the visit, ProBoard
representatives
reviewed the
Commission’s
in-house policies
and procedures,
delivery of
fire and rescue
certifications, test
bank management
and testing
policies. They
also interviewed
the Commission’s
members
including fire service leaders in
North Carolina, fire and rescue
instructors and Commission
staff.
The ProBoard, or the
National Board on Fire Service
Professional Qualification,
accreditation process was
developed as a necessary step
to help guide the fire service
toward a high standard of
professionalism. There are 48
accredited entities, including
states and other agencies.
Every five years after initial
accreditation, ProBoard
accredited entities must
undergo a critical reassessment
of the 13-point accreditation
criteria, which is the hallmark
of integrity for the ProBoard
system.
Wayne Bailey is a certification
specialist with the State Fire and
Rescue Commission.
The Fire & Rescue Journal
2008
Calendar
of Events
April 30, 2008
Volunteer Rescue/EMS Fund Invoice
Submission Deadline
For more information, visit
www.ncdoi.com/osfm
October 31 – November 2, 2008
N.C. High Angle Rescue School
Level II and III
Pilot Mountain State Park
Pinnacle
May 7 – 10, 2008
N.C. Society of Fire Rescue
Instructor’s Conference
Asheville
For more information, visit
www.ncsfri.org
May 15, 2008
Volunteer Fire Department Fund Grant
Recipients Announced
For more information, visit
www.ncdoi.com/osfm
October 6 – 8, 2008
N.C. Breathing Equipment School
Gaston Community College
For more information, contact
Phil Welch at 704-922-6258.
...continued from page 5
engine, the only hose line
deployed for the exercise. Initially
this line was unmanned until the
recruits emerged from the front
of the bus.
In the confusion of the
moment, Lt. Dunn heard
Filippone’s SCBA low air alarm
going off and realized there was at
least one more student still inside
the bus. This was a fortunate
break, though, since Filippone’s
SCBA was not equipped with
a PASS device to indicate his
location or that he was in distress.
Simultaneously, Assistant Chief
Hund began yelling for help to
get Filippone out of the bus. Lt.
Dunn entered the rear door in an
effort to locate the lost recruit,
but the intense fire conditions
prevented him from advancing.
He immediately called for a
hose line, and since the booster
line was still being used to cool
the firefighters at the front of
the bus, several students ran to
the engine to pull a 1-¾ inch
preconnect. Unfortunately, the
hoseline was not attached to the
engine and did not have a nozzle
affixed. During the delay, Lt.
Dunn acquired the booster line
and managed to knock down
the inferno and enter the bus.
The lack of flow produced by
the small booster line inevitably
increased the time it took to
knock down the stubborn fire.
Lt. Dunn finally located
Firefighter Filippone between the
front of the bus and the couch,
lying on his back. His SCBA
straps were burned away and the
SCBA was lying on the floor next
to him with the regulator still
discharging air. While Filippone’s
facepiece was still in place, his
low-pressure hose was now being
held in his turnout coat by his
left hand.
Several attempts were made
to remove Filippone through
the front doors of the bus, but
these efforts proved futile — the
recruit’s gear had absorbed the
fire’s intense heat and repeatedly
burned the firefighters’ hands.
Further, they could not negotiate
Filippone’s body around the tight
corner at the front steps of the
bus.
Finally, Lt. Dunn grabbed
Filippone by his turnout coat and
dragged him out the rear door
of the bus. Firefighter Filippone
exclaimed repeatedly that he was
in extreme pain throughout the
rescue, and after being removed
from the bus, he fell into
respiratory and cardiac arrest.
Fortunately, he was revived by
immediate CPR response.
There was no EMS standing
by for the training drill, and
precious time was lost waiting
for their arrival. Paramedics
intubated Filippone to protect
his airway prior to NorthStar
Life Flight airlifting him to St.
Barnabas’ Burn Center in nearby
Livingston. Once there, he was
admitted to the burn center in
critical condition.
Firefighters Berry and Van
Orden were also transferred to
St. Barnabas’ burn center with
lesser injuries. There they each
remained for approximately
two weeks recovering from their
wounds. Both Berry and Van
Orden would eventually make
full recoveries and return to the
fire service.
Unfortunately, the same
cannot be said for Firefighter
Anthony Filippone. The once
eager recruit would spend the
next two months in the critical
care ward of the burn unit.
Eventually his condition would
slowly begin to improve, though
the young man would never fully
recover from the severe injuries
that he sustained that day. He still
carries the physical and emotional
scars and pain with him today,
and Filippone’s permanent
disabilities have prevented him
from a normal lifestyle and
kept him from becoming the
firefighter he dreamed of being.
While the injuries sustained in
Parsippany-Troy Hills were tragic,
this incident served as a catalyst
to the passage of state legislation
mandating several life-changing
regulations for how live-fire
training is conducted. The state
adopted NFPA 1403 as the live-fire
training standard. Simply
put, this makes it against the
law — therefore criminal — to
vary from the 1403 standard to
any degree.
Kevin McArthur is a training
specialist with OSFM. He can
be reached at 919-609-4794, or
kmcarthur@ncdoi.net.
After more than 22 years of
service to North Carolina
and the Department of
Insurance Office of State Fire
Marshal (OSFM), Bonnie P.
Harris is moving on to see how
retirement suits her. Since her first
days with OSFM, Miss Bonnie,
as she is affectionately known
around the office, served the Fire
and Rescue Training Division and
proved herself to be an asset not
only to the Division, but also to
the entire fire and rescue service.
Over the years, Miss Bonnie
coordinated the administrative
responsibilities for many of
OSFM’s training classes such as
the popular High Angle Rescue
School. She can remember the
time when local fire departments
hosted school instructors at their
station houses because there was
no funding for lodging. While
her career has seen other changes
- going from typewriters to
computers - she notes that one
thing hasn’t changed in more than
two decades: the people she works
with remain dedicated to growing
and improving the Department.
Upon her retirement in February,
Miss Bonnie recalled how she truly
enjoyed working with the “fire and
rescue people” and noted that she
thought of the staff as her second
family.
That feeling is mutual and is
evident when speaking to any
one of OSFM’s staff members.
Although Feb. 29 was her last day
working for OSFM, her legacy
of hard work and friendship
will continue in her absence.
Congratulations to Miss Bonnie
on her retirement!
OSFM Staff Say Goodbye as “Miss Bonnie” Retires
Old friends get together (from left to right): Robert Swiger, Herb Coffey, Angie Callahan, Mike Shelton, Bonnie
Harris, Wilburn Small and Claude Shew; all now retired from OSFM.
Spring 2008
In every community, there are
tales of the “big fire,” and
Burlington is no different. In
many instances the renowned
fires were truly “big” — ending
up as conflagrations that
destroyed the central business
district and tremendously
impacted the fledgling economy.
In the early days, Burlington’s
city district was only about one
square mile, and unfortunately
fire protection was not a high
priority. In fact, the town’s fire
service mainly consisted of an
unorganized group of individuals
with a bucket or two, but no
consistent department to count
on.
In 1901, a group of seven
men under the leadership of
Mr. Banks Teague gathered in
the original City Hall to lay the
groundwork for the Burlington
Volunteer Fire Department. Once
established, this volunteer unit
continued to grow and flourish,
and soon obtained its first piece
of motorized apparatus, a Dodge
pickup truck modified by two
key members of the department,
Bunk Burke and George Clapp.
This homemade apparatus
would be tested in 1918, when
a fire started in the M.B. Smith
Furniture store, located on South
Main Street between Front and
Davis Streets. The wind-driven
fire quickly destroyed most of
the businesses, overwhelming
the members of the Burlington
Volunteer Fire Department.
Fearing that the entire business
district would be destroyed, the
City of Greensboro was called
upon. Records indicate that
several Greensboro fire apparatus
were placed on railcars and
shipped to Burlington, along with
personnel reinforcements. This
early mutual aid agreement was
instrumental in stopping the fire’s
progress. The area was rebuilt in
1919, and once again, became the
town’s business hub.
Shortly after the 1918 fire,
the Burlington Fire Department
became more organized and
efficient — a foundation that
would prove important when,
46 years later, downtown
Burlington would once again face
a threatening fire.
But in the years leading up
to that blaze, the service to
Burlington citizens evolved
dramatically. The men leading
the Department changed,
equipment was added and the
Department slowly grew into
a formidable organization. In
1919, the Department purchased
an American LaFrance 750 gpm
rotary gear pump, chain drive
engine. A few years later, after
Chief Charlie Hebrin handed
over the reins to Grover Moore,
the agency bought an additional
piece of motorized
apparatus for
$8,000. When
Fire Company
No. 2 opened, a
second 750 gpm
rotary gear, chain
driven American
LaFrance came
into service (a
truck that is still
a member of the
Burlington Fire
Department
on standby at
Station 5).
The
Department
changed
leadership
again in 1948
when Roma
C. Fortune
left the City of Greensboro Fire
Department to become the first
paid chief of the Burlington
Fire Department. He began his
tenure by hiring six full-time
members while continuing to
supplement the paid staff with 25
volunteers. As the Burlington Fire
Department grew, Chief Fortune
encouraged its members to make
training and fire prevention
efforts a priority. He instituted
regularly scheduled Wednesday
afternoon exercises with mock
calls and various training drills.
This training would pay off in
1964 when the Department was
called to battle a second large-scale
fire threatening downtown.
On Dec. 23, 1964, the 300
block of South Main Street was
active with last-minute Christmas
shoppers. Most stores were
open late, until about 9 p.m., to
provide the shop owners one last
chance to move their wares.
At that time, the 300 block
of South Main Street was home
to The Glamor Shop, Phoenix
Furniture Store, Mebane Shoe
Company and Apple’s Shoe
Store. At 9:40 p.m. a City of
Burlington police officer noticed
heavy smoke coming from
the shopping district. Upon
further investigation the officer
discovered the source of the
smoke — a rapidly spreading fire
located at 355 South Main Street,
home of The Glamor Shop. The
officer immediately went to the
Burlington Fire Department
headquarters located at the corner
of Front and Worth Streets, where
he turned in a voice alarm for the
fire.
The entire complement of
on-duty fire fighting staff and
equipment responded, including
the Department’s 1935 Peter
Pirsch Sons and Company 50-
foot hook and ladder truck with
the mechanical hoisting ladder.
“Smoke was belching from
the building when I arrived at
the scene,” recalls Chief Fortune.
“There were no flames visible, but
there was so much smoke that
it was difficult at first glance to
determine in which building the
actual fire occurred. When we
opened the building, the flames
were then visible.
A fire of this magnitude
required the general response of
all members of the Burlington
Fire Department, both on
and off duty. Records indicate
that at least 40 firemen from
Burlington fought this fire with
assistance from volunteers with
Faucette, Mebane, Elon College,
Eli Whitney and Altamahaw
Ossippee.
Over the course of the fire,
four injuries to firefighting staff
occurred: J.W. Ward suffered first
and second degree burns on his
legs and J.P. Love, T. R. Fuller
and F. Andrews were overcome
by smoke. Firemen Ward, Love
and Fuller were manning the
ladder truck, which lacked any
type of compressed breathing air
equipment. The extended period
of time operating in the thermal
column caused their injuries.
Andrews’ injuries were caused by
a roof collapse as he was being
lowered through a hole in the
roof to check fire conditions.
For close to three hours crews
battled the blaze, and despite
their tremendous efforts both
The Glamor Shop and Apples
Shoe Shop were totally destroyed.
While officials determined the
fire originated in The Glamor
Shop, the exact cause of the fire
was never determined. The fire’s
damages were estimated to be
more than $250,000.
Looking Back:
Downtown Burlington Burns Twice: 1918 and 1964
The Fire & Rescue Journal
Looking Forward...
What is Accreditation Worth?
by Tim Bradley, Senior Deputy State Fire Marshal
Many people are aware
that almost all of North
Carolina’s Fire and
Rescue certification programs are
accredited by the International
Fire Service Accreditation
Congress (IFSAC), and several
of our programs were recently
accredited by the National Board
on Fire Service Professional
Qualifications (NBFSPQ),
or the old Pro-Board. We are
occasionally asked the question:
“Is what we sacrifice in the area
of usability of the program
worth the price to become
accredited?” In many cases
people use accreditation as a
cop-out to explain why we do
certain things regarding testing.
In truth, we do certain things
regarding testing because they are
the right things to do to have a
creditable program. We achieve
accreditation because we do the
right things.
A good example is the reason
our Firefighter and Rescue Tech
programs are not accredited by
NBFSPQ, and haven’t been since
we first applied in 1988. The
NBFSPQ requires that a different
instructor be utilized to do the
practical testing, complete and
separate from the instructor who
teaches the class. The fact that our
classes and testing are conducted
outside the auspices of a central
facility makes it terribly difficult
to accomplish that separation. In
that light, accreditation by the
Board didn’t seem worth the cost
to restructure our entire system.
Accreditation is a valuable tool,
but not at any cost. The main
focus is to make our programs
valid, or to give them credibility.
That most often will result in
accreditation.
In view of recent questions
concerning the practicality of
accreditation, it may be good for
us to review some of the reasons
why schools, colleges, hospitals,
etc., all see accreditation as a
necessary tool for delivering a
quality program.
Fire and Rescue organizations
serving the public are being held
more and more accountable
for their actions, and are being
opened to more public scrutiny
than ever before. As with private
companies and corporations,
the public emergency service
organization is being judged
not on the availability of their
product or service alone, but the
quality as well. Therefore, it is
not acceptable for equipment and
manpower to simply be available,
but the quality of delivery by the
manpower and equipment must
be at an acceptable level. There
are numerous avenues by which
to judge equipment quality,
including standards, test data,
warranties, and experience with
the particular type of equipment.
Manpower, as well, can be judged
by several different fashions.
Training, certification and
accreditation of certification are
tools to assist in these efforts.
Certification is a means by
which organizations may attest
authoritatively that an individual
has met, either through training
or experience, the requirements of
a given standard on a given date.
It is not simply a measure of the
amount of training an individual
has received, but the amount
the individual has retained and
demonstrated in a controlled
testing atmosphere.
Accreditation is a status granted
to an educational institution or
certification program that has
been found to meet or exceed
stated criteria of educational
quality. In the United States,
accreditation is voluntarily sought
by institutions and programs, and
is conferred by non-governmental
bodies. IFSAC and NBFSPQ are
examples.
The benefactors of training,
certification, and accreditation
are the members of the fire and
rescue service, for each in its own
way is an assurance of quality.
Certification doesn’t always have
a direct impact on the quality
of the training, since you can
have good quality training in
an area that certification doesn’t
exist. It does however, impact
it indirectly, since it establishes
a standard delivery and testing
mechanism, and the delivery is
in most cases consistent with a
standard. Certification itself helps
to verify the quality of training by
demonstrating that the training
created a learning experience
by the individual, since he/she
was able to perform the learned
material against established test
criteria. Accreditation doesn’t
affect the individual as directly as
certification, since the individual
himself is not accredited, but is
certified. The way accreditation
affects the individual is by
verifying that the testing process
by which the individual was
judged, has been found by
educational experts in that field to
be of fair, sound and substantial
quality as measured against
standard educational criteria
and the particular certification
standard. However, it must
be kept clearly in mind that
rescue technicians, firefighters,
instructors, officers, etc., do not
become accredited; they become
certified. In general, certifying
agencies (or programs of
instruction) receive accreditation;
individuals are certified for having
completed an accredited program.
Clearly an individual can derive
satisfaction from the knowledge
that he/she has completed a
program of instruction that has
been evaluated and deemed
worthy by an objective and
independent accrediting body.
One misconception about
accreditation is that reciprocity, or
the transferability of certificates,
is the reason for accreditation. It
is true that once you are certified
by an accredited organization,
it makes your certification
transferable to almost any other
accredited entity. This may be
a benefit for those who look to
move, or are in a transitional job
such as the military, but it is not
the primary reason for getting a
program accredited. It is simply a
benefit of that accreditation.
Accreditation leads to an
increase in professionalism and
that, in and of itself, is a desirable
end. Professional conduct in its
operations by any organization
leads that organization’s service
community and those affiliated
with it to hold the organization
and its personnel in higher regard.
You wouldn’t send your child to a
school that wasn’t accredited, and
you would not knowingly go to
a hospital that wasn’t accredited.
What then, is the justification for
sending a rescuer or firefighter
to be trained by someone whose
programs are not certifiable and
accredited?
Accreditation at any cost is too
expensive, but measured against
reasonable changes in testing
practices, it is an invaluable
tool. There is some comfort and
assurance in the realization that
the people measuring you as
an individual for certification
against a standard have also been
measured against a standard as
well and found acceptable.
The benefactors of training,
certification, and accreditation are
the members of the fire and rescue
service, for each in its own way is
an assurance of quality.
Spring 2008
OSFM Welcomes Two New Employees
Matthew Thorpe, Fire and Rescue
Training Specialist, Research and
Program Development Division —
Matt Thorpe is a 15-year
veteran of the fire service, and
before joining OSFM, he spent
his career working for the
City of King Fire Department
where he moved up the
ranks to assistant chief. He is
currently enrolled at Fayetteville
Technical Community College
working toward a degree in
fire protection technology.
Matt also holds numerous
state certifications including Fire
Instructor III, Fire Officer III and
Fire Inspector III. In his spare
time, Matt loves to fly fish in the
creek beds and rivers of North
Carolina. He lives in King with
his wife Cyndi and their daughters
Amber and Jordan.
Mike Hejduk, Code Consultant,
Engineering and Codes Division —
Mike Hejduk brings extensive
experience to OSFM’s State
Property and Plans Review
section. He holds five Level III
inspection certificates and was
chief building official and planner
and zoning administrator for the
Town of Southern Shores for the
past 10 years. A 1979 graduate of
the U.S. Coast Guard Academy
with a bachelor’s degree in Ocean
Engineering, he was stationed in
Seattle, Wash., Governor’s Island,
N.Y., and at the Coast Guard
headquarters in Washington,
D.C. Following his service, Mike
worked for private industry as
a contractor with the Navy’s
AEGIS Cruiser Shipbuilding
Program in Arlington, Va., and
for an engineering firm in North
Carolina. He and his wife, Brenda,
have been happily married for
more than 20 years and have four
children. While not at work, Mike
stays busy: He has completed
several marathons, is learning to
play the guitar, enjoys reading and
has plans to earn a master’s degree
and write a novel in the next 10
years.
Mike Hejduk
Matthew Thorpe
In an effort to assist
fire chiefs, fire officers,
and other interested
personnel, the North Carolina
Association of Fire Chiefs in
cooperation with the Office of
State Fire Marshal developed
the 2008 Edition of the
North Carolina Fire Service
Reference Manual. The manual
provides an updated reference
of state resources, agencies and
other information relative to
statewide fire protection.
Building on the original
manual that was developed
to provide fire chiefs with
information about daily
operations, expansion of services
and firefighter benefits, the
updated version now includes
sample job descriptions,
contracts and fire service
forms in addition to previous
content. Future editions are
anticipated to include sample
standard operating guidelines
and annexation contracts.
This manual will
be beneficial to those
departments that are
just starting out and
departments wanting
to update their current
practices. While the
2008 edition is currently
available, the manual is a
living document and
will continue to be
updated as needed.
Your suggestions and
input are welcome
and necessary in the
development process to
maintain a current and
useful document. To
make sure all suggestions
are incorporated, a
committee will be formed
of volunteer, combination
and paid chiefs to oversee
the manual’s continued
upkeep. If you are
interested in serving on
the review team, contact
Kenneth Mullen at
ncafc@suddenlink.net.
Collaboration was a key
component in developing
this comprehensive manual
for North Carolina’s fire
service. Special thanks
to OSFM’s Tim Bradley,
Keith McLeod, Chris Best
and Karen Holder for their
hard work and dedication
to completing the reference
manual!
Kenneth Mullen is the executive
director of the N.C. Association of
Fire Chiefs
2008 N.C. Fire Service Reference Manuals Available
To download a copy of the new 2008 Edition of
the North Carolina Fire Service Reference Manual,
visit www.ncafc.com.
10
The Fire & Rescue Journal
Q: How do I determine the
Needed Fire Flow for my
District?
A: The foundation to
any fire department’s
NCRRS survey is
determining the department’s
needed fire flow, or the amount
of water considered necessary to
control a major fire in a specific
building. The amount of water is
expressed in gallons per minute
(GPM) at 20 PSI, or pounds per
square inch, residual pressure for a
duration from two to four hours.
To figure out your needed
fire flow, first determine the size
of the building by measuring
the effective area in square feet.
Measure the length and width
of the building; if a building has
multiple levels, all stories above
the first floor will be calculated
at 50 percent of the effective
area. For example, calculate the
effective area for Building X, a
two-story building, with the first
floor equaling 2,000 square feet
and the second floor equaling
2,000 square feet: 2,000 + (2,000
x .50) = 3,000 square feet total
effective area.
Once you have the effective
square feet, calculate the
construction factor (Ci) with
the following formula. Note: the
minimum value of Ci is 500 GPM
and the calculated value of Ci is
rounded to the nearest 250 GPM.
The final factor
necessary for determining the
needed fire flow is the occupancy
factor. This relates to the
building’s contents and primary
use; the greater potential for fire
due to a building’s contents, the
higher the occupancy factor will
be for the final GPM needed for
a particular building. Use the
chart below for the occupancy
combustibility class and the
occupancy factor rate.
Once
the final
needed fire
flow is figured,
several important factors can be
determined including the basic
fire flow and engine needs and
the pumping capacity. The basic
fire flow and engine needs allow
your department to determine
how many engines it has and
how many will be needed for
incident response. If you have
more engines than needed, reserve
engines are credited in the survey.
Knowing the pumping capacity
is achieved by combining the
pump capacity of each engine
and applying it towards the basic
fire flow. Finally, the needed fire
flow will determine if automatic
aid engines will be credited. If
the basic fire flow calls for more
engines than a department has
available and the department
currently utilizes automatic aid,
then automatic aid engines
can be
used
to complement
the needed fire flow. This
will give the department full
credit for engine pump capacity.
Determining needed fire flows
throughout your district is a vital
part of the basic fire flow and
the engine needs during your fire
department’s fire response rating
survey. Whether you are perform-ing
pre-fire inspections or con-ducting
a building construction
class, this is an easy tool that all
departments should perform prior
to your next survey. For more
information about this issue, con-tact
the Rating and Inspections
Division at 919-661-5880 or visit
www.ncdoi.com/osfm.
Bryant Waters is a fire ratings
inspector with OSFM.
Calculating the Needed Fire Flow for Your District
Inspection Tips
C i = 1 8 F ( A i ) 0 . 5
A = Effective square feet
F = Coefficient related to the class of construction:
-- 1.5 for Construction Class 1 (Frame)
-- 1.0 for Construction Class 2 (Joisted Masonry)
-- 0.8 for Construction Class 3 (Non-Combustible)
and Construction Class 4 (Masonry Non-
Combustible)
-- 0.6 for Construction Class 5 (Modified Fire
Resistive) and Construction Class 6 (Fire
Resistive)
OCCUPANCY F A C TO R C L A S S O C C U P A N C Y F A C T OR ( O i )
C-1 (Non-Combustible) 0.75
C-2 (Limited Combustible) 0.85
C-3 (Combustible) 1.00
C-4 (Free Burning) 1.15
C-5 (Rapid Burning) 1.25
South Central High School has a total effective area of 65,400
square feet. The high school is constructed of block masonry
construction. The high school has an occupancy load of school
desks, filing cabinets and computers; it is considered to have
limited combustibility due to its contents and construction.
Follow through the scenario and formulas to see how the needed
fire flow is determined for South Central High School.
Construction Factor: Ci = 18F (Ai) 0.5
Ci = 18 (0.8) (65,400) 0.5
Ci = 3682.57 GPM
Final Construction Factor rounded to nearest 250
is 3,500 GPM.
Occupancy Factor: = Ci x Oi
3,500 GPM x 0.85
(Limited Combustible) = 2,975 GPM
Final Occupancy Factor rounded to nearest 250
is 3,000 GPM.
South Central High School’s final needed fire flow
is 3,000 GPM.
The following scenario will help you in determining a needed fire flow of a high school — a structure type that you will find
in almost every district in North Carolina.
Spring 2008
11
...continued from page 1.
Safety Educator Levels I, II and
III. Once the conference began,
participants attended workshops
that discussed residential
sprinklers, the Juvenile Fire Busters
program and even a course on
how to deal with the media during
emergency response and more.
Guest speakers Judy Comoletti,
NFPA’s vice president of public
education, and Amy Acton with
the Phoenix Society for Burn
Survivors, updated attendees
on current public education
campaigns and the upcoming
World Burn Congress in Raleigh.
Bonnie Woodruff also spoke to
the group about the importance
of fire prevention efforts; Bonnie’s
son Ben died in the tragic
UNC fraternity house fire
on Mother’s Day 1996.
Those who have shown
exceptional dedication to
the fire and life safety field
were honored at an awards
banquet. Included in the
ceremony was the newly
established B.T. Fowler
Lifetime Achievement
award. For more
information about this
distinction read the related
article on page 5.
Jan Parker is an injury
prevention specialist with
OSFM.
Congratulations to the following SKNC award winners!
Safe Kids Rutherford County, Chapter of the Year
Safe Kids Cleveland County, Coalition of the Year
David Poythress, Chapter Coordinator of the Year
Judy Hawkins, Coalition Coordinator of the Year
Safe Kids Charlotte-Mecklenberg, Outstanding Safe Kids Event
Safe Kids Guilford County, Most Creative Safe Kids Event
Safe Kids Gaston County, Most Improved Safe Kids
Charlene Proctor, Member of the Year
Irvin Robinson, Member of the Year
Dr. Lewis Margolis, Shining Star
Betty Johnsey, Outstanding Safe Kids Leadership
J. Darrell Jernigan, GHSP Outstanding Safe Kids Sponsor
Kelly Ransdell, Insurance Commissioner Jim Long, Paul Jones and Deb Stout take a moment to reflect on the
accomplishments of Safe Kids North Carolina.
In June OSFM’s Web site will
outline information about how fire and
rescue personnel can attend the next
National Fire Academy State Weekend
in Emmitsburg, Md. The curriculum is
designed to strengthen the fire and rescue
service community in North Carolina by
providing education, personal networking
and a shared collegial experience. If you’ve
never attended this weekend event, it’s a
trip worth taking in 2009.
Earlier this year 240 members of the
North Carolina fire and rescue service
traveled up north for the National Fire
Academy on the U.S. Fire Administration’s
107-acre campus. While there, participants
attended various classes including
Strategy and Tactic for Initial Company
Operations, Leadership III, Training
Operations for Small Departments,
Juvenile Firesetter I, and NIMS Incident
Command for the Fire Service.
The time to start thinking about 2009’s
National Fire Academy State Weekend is
now. For more information, remember
to check out OSFM’s Web site in June at
www.ncdoi.com/osfm.
During the 2008 National Fire Academy weekend, OSFM staff poses in front of the new memorial dedicated to the events of Sept. 11, 2001.
The To Lift a Nation memorial was created by sculptor Stan Watts and modeled from the Bergen Record photograph by Thomas E. Franklin.
Coming Soon: 2009 N.C. National Fire Academy Information
1202 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-1202
(919) 661-5880
www.ncdoi.com/osfm
The Fire & Rescue Journal
RT Structural Collapse Qualification was held
at Robeson Community College on Jan. 18-19.
Thomasville Rescue and the Community College
provided the equipment for the intensive two-day
practical skill oriented class.
(Right) Corey Roberts, Richard Caudill
and Bruce Butner explain
cribbing technique.
Forty nine students participated in the
North Carolina Breathing Equipment School at
Gaston College, March 10-14.
(Above-Left) John Faulk from Belmont Fire Department exits the structure
after performing a vent/enter/search scenario. (Above-Right) Firefighters
assist Bill Blankenship from Chapel Hill Fire Department after he completes
the consumption course.
The North Carolina Spring High Angle Rescue School was held March 28-30 at
Stone Mountain State Park in Pilot.
(Left) Josh Conner from High Point Fire Department gets ready to rappel.

Click tabs to swap between content that is broken into logical sections.

JOURNAL
Fire & Rescue
A publication of the North Carolina Department of Insurance Office of State Fire Marshal
Safety Advocates Join Forces During the FLSE
Conference and SKNC Annual Meeting
Spring 2008
What’s Hot Inside
Fire Chief of the Year Awards..............................................3-4....................................Live Fire Revisited: Parsippany, N.J.
Cathy Lohr Honored with Lifetime Achievement Award..........5....................................... N.C. Earns Pro Board Accreditation
OSFM Wishes Bonnie Harris a Happy Retirement.................6-7...................................Looking Back: Downtown Burlington
Looking Forward: What is Accreditation? ............................8-9...........2008 N.C. Fire Service Reference Manuals Available
Inspection Tips:................................................................... 10.........................................Calculating The Needed Fire Flow
The Pinehurst Resort was
practically bursting at the
seams with attendees from
both the Safe Kids North
Carolina Annual Meeting and
the North Carolina Fire and Life
Safety Educators Conference at the
beginning of February. More than
300 injury prevention advocates
from across North Carolina
descended on the hotel to attend
the conferences, which were held
back to back.
Safe Kids North Carolina annual
meeting kicks off the week’s events
With more than 140
representatives attending from
Safe Kids coalitions statewide,
the Safe Kids North Carolina
annual meeting continues to
provide participants with safety
updates and innovative ideas to
take back to their communities.
Daily seminars ran the gamut of
topics from new ways to reach
at-risk communities to how
to be a Safe Kids champion to
innovative fundraising approaches.
Participants also heard from
representatives of Safe Kids
Worldwide about updates at the
national and international level,
as well as breakout sessions that
discussed hot topics in the injury
prevention industry like ATV
safety, residential sprinklers and
carbon monoxide safety.
The annual meeting also
provided a chance for
Safe Kids North Carolina (SKNC)
to recognize coalitions’ and other
advocates’ efforts during the
past year. A memorable moment
came as a surprise to Insurance
Commissioner Jim Long when
SKNC announced him to be
the inaugural recipient of the
Chairman’s Award, presented
for long-term commitment and
dedication to injury prevention for
children 14 and under.
“I was surprised and honored to
receive this award,” Commissioner
Long said. “Safe Kids holds a
special place in my heart, and
I’m so proud to be part of an
organization that’s in the business
of saving kids’ lives.”
Commissioner Long currently
chairs the SKNC board of
directors. For a complete list of
Safe Kids NC award winners, see
page 11.
Fire and Life Safety Educators
conference empowers educators
The Fire and Life Safety
Educators, Central Region
hosted its 32nd annual educator
conference during the SKNC
annual meeting. Because so many
participants were already in town
for the SKNC meeting, it was the
perfect opportunity to hold pre-conference
classes for Fire and Life
continued on page 11...
Annual award winners at the Safe Kids North Carolina annual meeting. Pictured left to right, Judy Hawkins, Cleveland County Coalition Coordinator of the Year;
Insurance Commissioner Jim Long; and Joanie Mabry from Cleveland County Safe Kids.
The Fire & Rescue Journal
From the Commissioner’s Desk
The planning has started, and
August will be here before
you know it. Once it is here,
it will be time for a great North
Carolina fire service tradition —
the South Atlantic Fire Expo
(SAFE), hosted by the N.C. State
Firemen’s Association and N.C.
Association of Fire Chiefs. Like
last year, we moved slightly west
and will meet in Winston-Salem,
Aug. 28-30.
Of course, like every other year,
the conference will kick off with a
golf tournament, this year at the
Oak Valley Golf Course. Now, I’m
not a big golfer, but I know Tim
Bradley and Larry Hughes will be
there to show that OSFM knows
how to have a good time.
Be sure to check out the more
than 100 industry-related vendors
who will be able to show you
the latest gear and equipment.
They’ve promised to have the
latest innovations in equipment,
apparatus, protective gear, tools
vehicles and more on display.
While the vendors can show
you gear that your department
might want, the workshops this
year will provide you with new
information that you can use.
More than 20 seminars will
cover issues ranging from Fire
Team USA efforts and updates
to leadership training to an
electrical safety course sponsored
by Progress Energy. These
workshops will be the best yet,
and I encourage you to take full
advantage of them.
I enjoy this conference year
in and year out, and I’m looking
forward to August. By now
you’ve probably heard that I am
retiring from my post as insurance
commissioner and state fire
marshal. I’m not going anywhere
just yet — God willing, I’ll be here
until my term ends in January
2009. But just because I’m leaving
this office doesn’t mean that
you won’t see me at the 2009 or
2010 conferences and beyond. I
have said it before, but working
as your state fire marshal is one
of my favorite parts of the job. I
always enjoy meeting with you
and hearing about your triumphs
and challenges; it reaffirms what
I already know — that North
Carolina’s fire and rescue service is
truly outstanding. I am honored to
have been a part of it.
Upcoming Chief’s Conference Promises to
Serve You Well
JOURNAL
Fire & Rescue
Published by the North Carolina Department of Insurance Office of State Fire Marshal
1201 Mail Service Center • Raleigh, North Carolina 27699
Jim Long, Insurance Commissioner & State Fire Marshal
Wayne Goodwin, Assistant Commissioner
Tim Bradley, Senior Deputy State Fire Marshal
Executive Editor
Chrissy Pearson, Director of Public Information
Managing Editor
Chris Best, Supervisor, Research and Program Development
Associate Editor
Kristin Milam, Assistant Director of Public Information
Graphic Designer
Trisha Tripp
Editorial Assistant
Karen Holder
The Fire & Rescue Journal is a quarterly publication of the
N.C. Department of Insurance Office of State Fire Marshal
1202 Mail Service Center • Raleigh, NC 27699
Questions, comments or story ideas should be directed to
Chris Best at 919-661-5880 x332 or cbest@ncdoi.net.
To sign up for the mailing list or to submit an address change, contact
Chrissy Pearson at 919-733-5238 or cpearson@ncdoi.net.
3,200 copies of the Journal, which is funded through a grant from the North
Carolina Association of Insurance Agents, were printed and mailed at a cost of
$2979.92 of $1.2956 per copy.
by Insurance Commissioner and State Fire Marshal Jim Long
2008 Mid-Winter Chiefs Conference a Success
More than 200 members of the
N.C. Fire Chiefs Association met
in Atlantic Beach for the annual
Mid-Winter Conference held
the first weekend in February.
Participants attended 10 training
sessions that covered topics
ranging from residential sprinkler
systems to how to be effective
while dealing with generational
issues in the fire service.
One of the hot topics covered
during the conference was the
much-talked-about junior member
standard. The Junior Member
Forum provided insight into the
development of the standard and
the importance of protecting our
junior members.
In its business meeting, the
association approved the IMAS
plan to meet all of the guidelines
set forth from the International
Association of Fire Chiefs.
The latest updates to the North
Carolina Fire Service Reference
Manual were given out on CD
to all the participants at the
conference; the manual is also
available online at
www.ncafc.com.
The 2009 Mid-Winter
Conference will be held at
Wrightsville Beach Feb. 6-8; the
annual golf tournament will be
Feb. 5. Mark your calendars now
and plan to attend this wonderful
conference so we can make a
difference in the leadership of
North Carolina’s fire service!
Davie Summey is a fire rating
inspector with OSFM.
Spring 2008
During the North Carolina
Association of Fire Chiefs
Mid-winter Conference
held in Atlantic Beach in February,
Conover Fire Chief Mark Hinson
and Warrenton Fire Chief Walter
Gardner received the Chief of the
Year awards for a career chief and
volunteer chief, respectively.
Chief Hinson has been Conover
Fire Department’s chief since
joining the department in 2003.
Since beginning his service in
Conover, Chief Hinson has been
actively involved with the Catawba
County Firefighters’ Association,
and currently serves as its
vice president. Through this
organization, Chief Hinson
has had an instrumental
role in implementing group
purchasing throughout the
fire service, and he currently
chairs the equipment committee
working closely with all
county departments ordering
hoses, pagers, foam and other
equipment that the departments
require.
Chief Hinson is also a
member of the International
Association of Fire Chiefs,
National Fire Protection
Association, North Carolina
Society of Instructors, North
Carolina State Firemen’s
Association and the North
Carolina Association of Fire
Chiefs.
In 2006, Chief Hinson
earned his associate’s
degree in fire protection
technology, and he
plans to begin work on
a fire service protection
bachelor’s degree at the
University of North
Carolina Charlotte this
fall. Congratulations
to Chief Mark Hinson
for his contribution to
North Carolina’s fire
service!
Chief Walter
Gardener has been
the administrative officer for
Warrenton Rural Volunteer Fire
Department since 1973, when
he took over the post from his
father. He played a pivotal role
in creating recognized rural fire
districts in Warren
County in the late
1970s, and also helped
create service districts
to provide individual
property tax districts for
each of the county’s fire
departments.
Since becoming
Warrenton’s chief
in 2002, Chief Gardener has
successfully applied for and
received three FEMA Assistance to
Firefighters grants. He also worked
to combine the Warrenton and
Warrenton Rural fire departments
under one roof in 2006 — a
station that he helped to plan,
design and construct and is valued
at $1.8 million.
Not only does he serve as the
Warrenton Fire Department chief,
but Chief Gardener also serves as
the Town of Warrenton’s mayor. In
this role, he has been appointed by
the N.C. League of Municipalities
as its representative on the state
Fire & Rescue Commission,
where he has been appointed to
the certification board and acts as
the Commission’s ethics liaison.
Congratulations to Chief Walter
Gardener for his contribution to
North Carolina’s fire service!
Fire Chief of the Year Awards Presented at Mid-Winter Conference
(Above) Chief Hinson receives the Fire Chief of the Year award from
Chief Walker and Ken Mullen. (Left) Chief Walter M. Gardner Jr. and his wife, Mishew.
During the past several years
the fire and rescue service has
seen numerous new reference
manuals hit the market. These
new manuals have raised a lot
of concerns — mainly regarding
testing procedures. While the
Department of Insurance OSFM
does not recommend or endorse
one reference manual over another,
we understand their importance as
a part of training and preparedness
for fire and rescue agencies. But as
you choose one to use in training,
are you confused about which
reference manual is right for your
department?
OSFM certifications are based
on the National Fire Protection
Association’s standards, but not
all reference manuals follow
NFPA. Therefore it is essential
that instructors take the time to
determine that their teaching
material, including the prewritten
lesson plans and presentations,
covers OSFM’s terminal and
enabling objectives based
on NFPA’s job performance
requirements (JPRs). Without
meeting these standards, a student
will not receive the requirement
information, won’t have adequate
preparation and will require skills
repair. Basically, the key to using
any reference manual is to be
prepared; as John Maxwell said,
“it’s better to prepare than to
repair.”
The following steps can help
make sure the manual you choose
will properly prepare your class:
1. Assessment — look over the
JPRs and make sure that your
class meets all of the stated
objectives.
2. Alignment — make sure
that the class flows well and
that you, as an instructor,
are familiar with and fully
understand the material and
presentation.
3. Attitude — prepare mentally
and physically for teaching a
course; if you do not have the
right attitude, the students’
training experience will suffer.
4. Evaluation — confirm that all
required information has been
covered and that your students
understand each learning
objective.
While OSFM recommends
instructors teach to the provided
lesson plan, the choice of which
training and reference material is
used is up to the instructor or the
Authority Having Jurisdiction.
Regardless of which manual is
used, it is your responsibility as an
instructor to cover the NFPA JPRs
and make sure the class is as well-prepared
and educated as possible.
Matt Thorpe is a training
specialist with the Research and
Program Development division of
OSFM. He can be reached at (919)
661-5880 or mthorpe@ncdoi.net.
Instructors: How do you Choose the Right Reference Manual?
The Fire & Rescue Journal
Live Fire Training Revisited:
Parsippany, New Jersey; 1992
The Fire & Rescue Journal presents another review of a live fire training incident which, due to its tragic outcome, guided the direction of
the NFPA 1403 standard into the document that it is today.
As we continue to explore the back-stories and circumstances that have led to the incidents shaping the NFPA 1403 landscape, we find that
most if not all have a common thread —these tragedies have occurred while fire departments were attempting to accomplish valid training
objectives by utilizing the combustible products to provide realistic conditions. Unfortunately, too frequently the result is disastrous. Still,
these serve as painful lessons learned that will hopefully save others in the fire service from suffering a similar fate.
Parsippany-Troy Hills, N.J.,
1992: the Greystone Park
Fire Department holds a
recruit training class that ends in
tragedy. The training curriculum
for the recruit class was similar to
the requirements for Firefighter I
certification, with approximately
90 contact hours for the entire
course. The fire chief reviewed
the lesson plans and approved
the training location and facility
prior to the start of the course, but
this doesn’t prevent the class from
going terribly wrong.
Made up of 19 recruit
firefighters from five area
departments, the class was
taught by Assistant Chief John
Hund of the Greystone Park Fire
Department. Though a fellow
officer from Greystone Park
assisted Chief Hund during the
course, no other instructors were
there the day of the incident and
no safety officer was present. One
student did not attend the class
that day, leaving Chief Hund
alone with 18 rookie firefighters
preparing to encounter what, for
most, would be their first live fire.
The purpose of the training
exercise was to “expose the trainees
to heat,” and the proposed
training would have the recruits
perform search and rescue drills
while inside an old school bus
located in an unused portion
of the local sewage treatment
plant. Incidentally, the sewage
treatment plant was located only
a couple of miles from the Morris
County Police and Fire Academy,
a modern training facility that
housed all of the necessary
dedicated facilities for conducting
live fire evolutions, including a
certified burn building. Also of
note, Morris County had issued
a directive more than three years
prior stating that no live burn
training would be allowed in
Morris County except at the Fire
and Police Academy. Finally,
permission was neither sought nor
granted to conduct the exercise
from the state’s Department
of Environmental Protection
and Energy, which at the time
prohibited open burning across
New Jersey except in permanent
fire training facilities.
These details bring us back
to the school bus. The 1976
International Harvester had
been used for over two years as
a “burn facility,” donated by the
local board of education. The fire
department welded steel plates
over the windows and removed
the student seats from the interior.
Inside the bus were several 55-
gallon drums divided in two.
These barrels held kerosene soaked
wood scraps used to produce heat
and smoke. Just inside the back
door were a partially burned heavy
truck tire, a wooden door and a
damaged five-gallon container of
fuel.
An upholstered, full-length,
foam-cushioned couch was placed
along the driver’s side wall of the
bus, approximately two-thirds
of the way toward the front.
Shredded paper was stuffed
under the cushions to propagate
fire growth, and a flare was
placed between the cushions to
ignite the fire. The rear door of
the bus was closed, and Chief
Hund told the students to get
into their gear and prepare to
enter the bus. The assistant chief
failed to check any of the recruits’
personal protective equipment
prior to beginning the drill, nor
did he require that the students
check each other’s gear. The bus
was allowed to burn for nearly
10 minutes before the first group
was told to enter through the rear
door, crawl past the burning couch
and exit out the front door. Chief
Hund told the recruits that the
purpose of the evolution was to
make them “feel heat.”
As the first crew entered the
bus, heavy black smoke poured
out of the back door. Three
rookie firefighters — Anthony
Filippone, Jeffrey Berry and
Richard Van Orden — led the
way, with Chief Hund fourth in
line. Two other students — Leno
Rocha and Guy Ricker — brought
up the rear of the line. Seconds
after the group entered the bus,
a flashover occurred. Just prior
to the flashover, screams were
heard coming from inside the
bus. Witnesses believe that these
first screams were from Firefighter
Filippone, the recruit leading the
team and deepest into the bus.
Firefighter Van Orden, third in
line, reported hearing Filippone’s
screams just before his own echoed
out of the bus.
Meanwhile, Chief Hund
realized that the interior of the
bus was becoming untenable and
quickly exited back through the
rear door, pushing Rocha and
Ricker out with him. Neither
Hund nor these two firefighters
were injured, but the first three
recruits were now trapped alone
inside as the bus burned unabated.
Back inside the bus, Firefighter
Berry had never imagined heat
such as that he was feeling. At
first he thought, “Man, this is the
real deal, this must be what it is
supposed to be like,” as he tried
to follow Firefighter Filippone
through the dilapidated bus. Then
it suddenly grew hotter — too
hot, too fast. Berry felt like his
very skin was on fire, and his
excitement turned to panic. As
Berry looked toward the ceiling
of the bus, the face shield on his
helmet evaporated. Already past
the seat of the fire, Berry began
scrambling toward the front of
the bus, but because the students
had not performed a walk-through
prior to the evolution,
even a seemingly simple structure
such as a school bus became an
unknown maze of fire and debris.
He was aware that Filippone was
somewhere in front of him, and
could hear what he thought was
air escaping from Filippone’s
SCBA. Berry desperately tried
to search for Filippone, but
the extreme heat forced him to
continue his retreat toward the
front of bus.
An engine company from
nearby Denville Fire Department
was on the scene that day; the
crew of the engine was supposed
to simply observe the training,
with no tasks assigned to them.
As conditions deteriorated, the
engine’s crew realized what was
happening but could not respond
until they donned their own
protective equipment. Upon
reaching the bus, Denville’s
Lieutenant Dunn and Firefighter
Kearns tried to make entry but
found the front doors hopelessly
jammed. Crews finally were able
to use a halligan tool to break out
the glass and force the doors open.
(An investigation after the incident
revealed that the mechanism
for opening the front doors was
broken and jammed, rendering it
inoperable long before the day of
the training exercise.) When the
doors gave way, a wave of heat and
smoke enveloped the firefighters at
the front of the bus, causing them
to retreat temporarily.
Once the front doors were
open, Firefighters Berry and Van
Orden emerged from the bus,
their turnout gear smoking. They
were both hosed down with a
booster line off the Denville
continued on page 6...
A 1976 International Harvester school bus was
used for search and rescue drills under live fire
conditions. A flashover occurred while five students
and one instructor were inside, trapping three rookie
firefighters inside the inferno.
Spring 2008
Cathy Lohr Receives 2008 B.T. Fowler Lifetime Achievement
Award from FLSE State Council
In 2007 when the North
Carolina Fire and Life Safety
Education Council decided to
establish a Lifetime Achievement
Award for fire and life safety
educators, the discussion that took
place was brief and to the point.
The members knew what they
wanted: to recognize an individual
who was not only dedicated to
and passionate about fire and life
safety, but also had made a lifetime
commitment to the cause. The
resulting award — the B.T. Fowler
Lifetime Achievement Award —
was presented to Cathy Lohr at
the Fire and Life Safety Educator’s
conference in February.
Lohr is known to many as
North Carolina’s “first lady of
fire safety,” and she is a long time
inspiration to fire departments
across the state. As a member
of the Fire and Life Safety
State Council and Residential
Sprinkler Alliance she works
tirelessly coordinating youth fire
safety programs and fire service
conferences. She also worked on
the fire safe cigarette initiative.
Lohr retired from the Department
of Insurance Office of State Fire
Marshal in 1995 after working
for 17 years in the fire and rescue
training division. Congratulations
to Cathy Lohr for her
contributions to North Carolina’s
fire and life safety community!
About B.T. Fowler
B.T. Fowler retired from the
Raleigh Fire Department in 1986
after 34 years of service, and
remained active in fire prevention
efforts in North Carolina for
more than 50 years. He continues
to serve as a lifetime member of
the N. C. Fire and Life Safety
Educator State Council and is
well-known by the state’s fire
service for his work. He never
turns down an opportunity to
educate his community on fire
safety, is a strong advocate for
senior citizens fire safety programs,
and a friend and mentor to
everyone he meets.
B.T. Fowler joins Cathy Lohr, recipient of the 2008 B.T. Fowler Lifetime Achievement Award, and Insurance
Commissioner Jim Long for at the Fire and Life Safety Educator’s Conference awards banquet.
North Carolina Gains Pro Board Accreditation
North Carolina was approved for the following:
Instructor I NFPA 1041 2002 Edition
Instructor II NFPA 1041 2002 Edition
Fire Officer I NFPA 1021 2002 Edition
Fire Officer II NFPA 1021 2002 Edition
Fire Officer III NFPA 1021 2002 Edition
Fire Inspector I NFPA 1031 2003 Edition
Fire Inspector II NFPA 1031 2003 Edition
Fire Inspector III NFPA 1031 2003 Edition
Fire Life Safety Educator I NFPA 1035 2005 Edition
Fire Life Safety Educator II NFPA 1035 2005 Edition
Fire Life Safety Educator III NFPA 1035 2005 Edition
The Office of State Fire
Marshal’s Fire and Rescue
Commission attempt to gain
ProBoard certification finally
came to a
successful
end at the
ProBoard’s
annual
conference
in Tampa,
Fla. The Fire
and Rescue
Commission
joined the
Minnesota
Fire Service
Certification
Board, the Safety and Technical
Rescue Association and the
Vancouver Island Emergency
Response Academy as this
year’s inductees into the
ProBoard system.
North Carolina’s
certification process began in
2005, and ProBoard officials
made their final site visit in
January. “Back in January, the
site team noted in their exit
report that North Carolina’s
program was ‘above average’ in
the way test banks are handled
and certificates issued,”
explained Steve Sloan, the
Commission’s deputy director.
During the visit, ProBoard
representatives
reviewed the
Commission’s
in-house policies
and procedures,
delivery of
fire and rescue
certifications, test
bank management
and testing
policies. They
also interviewed
the Commission’s
members
including fire service leaders in
North Carolina, fire and rescue
instructors and Commission
staff.
The ProBoard, or the
National Board on Fire Service
Professional Qualification,
accreditation process was
developed as a necessary step
to help guide the fire service
toward a high standard of
professionalism. There are 48
accredited entities, including
states and other agencies.
Every five years after initial
accreditation, ProBoard
accredited entities must
undergo a critical reassessment
of the 13-point accreditation
criteria, which is the hallmark
of integrity for the ProBoard
system.
Wayne Bailey is a certification
specialist with the State Fire and
Rescue Commission.
The Fire & Rescue Journal
2008
Calendar
of Events
April 30, 2008
Volunteer Rescue/EMS Fund Invoice
Submission Deadline
For more information, visit
www.ncdoi.com/osfm
October 31 – November 2, 2008
N.C. High Angle Rescue School
Level II and III
Pilot Mountain State Park
Pinnacle
May 7 – 10, 2008
N.C. Society of Fire Rescue
Instructor’s Conference
Asheville
For more information, visit
www.ncsfri.org
May 15, 2008
Volunteer Fire Department Fund Grant
Recipients Announced
For more information, visit
www.ncdoi.com/osfm
October 6 – 8, 2008
N.C. Breathing Equipment School
Gaston Community College
For more information, contact
Phil Welch at 704-922-6258.
...continued from page 5
engine, the only hose line
deployed for the exercise. Initially
this line was unmanned until the
recruits emerged from the front
of the bus.
In the confusion of the
moment, Lt. Dunn heard
Filippone’s SCBA low air alarm
going off and realized there was at
least one more student still inside
the bus. This was a fortunate
break, though, since Filippone’s
SCBA was not equipped with
a PASS device to indicate his
location or that he was in distress.
Simultaneously, Assistant Chief
Hund began yelling for help to
get Filippone out of the bus. Lt.
Dunn entered the rear door in an
effort to locate the lost recruit,
but the intense fire conditions
prevented him from advancing.
He immediately called for a
hose line, and since the booster
line was still being used to cool
the firefighters at the front of
the bus, several students ran to
the engine to pull a 1-¾ inch
preconnect. Unfortunately, the
hoseline was not attached to the
engine and did not have a nozzle
affixed. During the delay, Lt.
Dunn acquired the booster line
and managed to knock down
the inferno and enter the bus.
The lack of flow produced by
the small booster line inevitably
increased the time it took to
knock down the stubborn fire.
Lt. Dunn finally located
Firefighter Filippone between the
front of the bus and the couch,
lying on his back. His SCBA
straps were burned away and the
SCBA was lying on the floor next
to him with the regulator still
discharging air. While Filippone’s
facepiece was still in place, his
low-pressure hose was now being
held in his turnout coat by his
left hand.
Several attempts were made
to remove Filippone through
the front doors of the bus, but
these efforts proved futile — the
recruit’s gear had absorbed the
fire’s intense heat and repeatedly
burned the firefighters’ hands.
Further, they could not negotiate
Filippone’s body around the tight
corner at the front steps of the
bus.
Finally, Lt. Dunn grabbed
Filippone by his turnout coat and
dragged him out the rear door
of the bus. Firefighter Filippone
exclaimed repeatedly that he was
in extreme pain throughout the
rescue, and after being removed
from the bus, he fell into
respiratory and cardiac arrest.
Fortunately, he was revived by
immediate CPR response.
There was no EMS standing
by for the training drill, and
precious time was lost waiting
for their arrival. Paramedics
intubated Filippone to protect
his airway prior to NorthStar
Life Flight airlifting him to St.
Barnabas’ Burn Center in nearby
Livingston. Once there, he was
admitted to the burn center in
critical condition.
Firefighters Berry and Van
Orden were also transferred to
St. Barnabas’ burn center with
lesser injuries. There they each
remained for approximately
two weeks recovering from their
wounds. Both Berry and Van
Orden would eventually make
full recoveries and return to the
fire service.
Unfortunately, the same
cannot be said for Firefighter
Anthony Filippone. The once
eager recruit would spend the
next two months in the critical
care ward of the burn unit.
Eventually his condition would
slowly begin to improve, though
the young man would never fully
recover from the severe injuries
that he sustained that day. He still
carries the physical and emotional
scars and pain with him today,
and Filippone’s permanent
disabilities have prevented him
from a normal lifestyle and
kept him from becoming the
firefighter he dreamed of being.
While the injuries sustained in
Parsippany-Troy Hills were tragic,
this incident served as a catalyst
to the passage of state legislation
mandating several life-changing
regulations for how live-fire
training is conducted. The state
adopted NFPA 1403 as the live-fire
training standard. Simply
put, this makes it against the
law — therefore criminal — to
vary from the 1403 standard to
any degree.
Kevin McArthur is a training
specialist with OSFM. He can
be reached at 919-609-4794, or
kmcarthur@ncdoi.net.
After more than 22 years of
service to North Carolina
and the Department of
Insurance Office of State Fire
Marshal (OSFM), Bonnie P.
Harris is moving on to see how
retirement suits her. Since her first
days with OSFM, Miss Bonnie,
as she is affectionately known
around the office, served the Fire
and Rescue Training Division and
proved herself to be an asset not
only to the Division, but also to
the entire fire and rescue service.
Over the years, Miss Bonnie
coordinated the administrative
responsibilities for many of
OSFM’s training classes such as
the popular High Angle Rescue
School. She can remember the
time when local fire departments
hosted school instructors at their
station houses because there was
no funding for lodging. While
her career has seen other changes
- going from typewriters to
computers - she notes that one
thing hasn’t changed in more than
two decades: the people she works
with remain dedicated to growing
and improving the Department.
Upon her retirement in February,
Miss Bonnie recalled how she truly
enjoyed working with the “fire and
rescue people” and noted that she
thought of the staff as her second
family.
That feeling is mutual and is
evident when speaking to any
one of OSFM’s staff members.
Although Feb. 29 was her last day
working for OSFM, her legacy
of hard work and friendship
will continue in her absence.
Congratulations to Miss Bonnie
on her retirement!
OSFM Staff Say Goodbye as “Miss Bonnie” Retires
Old friends get together (from left to right): Robert Swiger, Herb Coffey, Angie Callahan, Mike Shelton, Bonnie
Harris, Wilburn Small and Claude Shew; all now retired from OSFM.
Spring 2008
In every community, there are
tales of the “big fire,” and
Burlington is no different. In
many instances the renowned
fires were truly “big” — ending
up as conflagrations that
destroyed the central business
district and tremendously
impacted the fledgling economy.
In the early days, Burlington’s
city district was only about one
square mile, and unfortunately
fire protection was not a high
priority. In fact, the town’s fire
service mainly consisted of an
unorganized group of individuals
with a bucket or two, but no
consistent department to count
on.
In 1901, a group of seven
men under the leadership of
Mr. Banks Teague gathered in
the original City Hall to lay the
groundwork for the Burlington
Volunteer Fire Department. Once
established, this volunteer unit
continued to grow and flourish,
and soon obtained its first piece
of motorized apparatus, a Dodge
pickup truck modified by two
key members of the department,
Bunk Burke and George Clapp.
This homemade apparatus
would be tested in 1918, when
a fire started in the M.B. Smith
Furniture store, located on South
Main Street between Front and
Davis Streets. The wind-driven
fire quickly destroyed most of
the businesses, overwhelming
the members of the Burlington
Volunteer Fire Department.
Fearing that the entire business
district would be destroyed, the
City of Greensboro was called
upon. Records indicate that
several Greensboro fire apparatus
were placed on railcars and
shipped to Burlington, along with
personnel reinforcements. This
early mutual aid agreement was
instrumental in stopping the fire’s
progress. The area was rebuilt in
1919, and once again, became the
town’s business hub.
Shortly after the 1918 fire,
the Burlington Fire Department
became more organized and
efficient — a foundation that
would prove important when,
46 years later, downtown
Burlington would once again face
a threatening fire.
But in the years leading up
to that blaze, the service to
Burlington citizens evolved
dramatically. The men leading
the Department changed,
equipment was added and the
Department slowly grew into
a formidable organization. In
1919, the Department purchased
an American LaFrance 750 gpm
rotary gear pump, chain drive
engine. A few years later, after
Chief Charlie Hebrin handed
over the reins to Grover Moore,
the agency bought an additional
piece of motorized
apparatus for
$8,000. When
Fire Company
No. 2 opened, a
second 750 gpm
rotary gear, chain
driven American
LaFrance came
into service (a
truck that is still
a member of the
Burlington Fire
Department
on standby at
Station 5).
The
Department
changed
leadership
again in 1948
when Roma
C. Fortune
left the City of Greensboro Fire
Department to become the first
paid chief of the Burlington
Fire Department. He began his
tenure by hiring six full-time
members while continuing to
supplement the paid staff with 25
volunteers. As the Burlington Fire
Department grew, Chief Fortune
encouraged its members to make
training and fire prevention
efforts a priority. He instituted
regularly scheduled Wednesday
afternoon exercises with mock
calls and various training drills.
This training would pay off in
1964 when the Department was
called to battle a second large-scale
fire threatening downtown.
On Dec. 23, 1964, the 300
block of South Main Street was
active with last-minute Christmas
shoppers. Most stores were
open late, until about 9 p.m., to
provide the shop owners one last
chance to move their wares.
At that time, the 300 block
of South Main Street was home
to The Glamor Shop, Phoenix
Furniture Store, Mebane Shoe
Company and Apple’s Shoe
Store. At 9:40 p.m. a City of
Burlington police officer noticed
heavy smoke coming from
the shopping district. Upon
further investigation the officer
discovered the source of the
smoke — a rapidly spreading fire
located at 355 South Main Street,
home of The Glamor Shop. The
officer immediately went to the
Burlington Fire Department
headquarters located at the corner
of Front and Worth Streets, where
he turned in a voice alarm for the
fire.
The entire complement of
on-duty fire fighting staff and
equipment responded, including
the Department’s 1935 Peter
Pirsch Sons and Company 50-
foot hook and ladder truck with
the mechanical hoisting ladder.
“Smoke was belching from
the building when I arrived at
the scene,” recalls Chief Fortune.
“There were no flames visible, but
there was so much smoke that
it was difficult at first glance to
determine in which building the
actual fire occurred. When we
opened the building, the flames
were then visible.
A fire of this magnitude
required the general response of
all members of the Burlington
Fire Department, both on
and off duty. Records indicate
that at least 40 firemen from
Burlington fought this fire with
assistance from volunteers with
Faucette, Mebane, Elon College,
Eli Whitney and Altamahaw
Ossippee.
Over the course of the fire,
four injuries to firefighting staff
occurred: J.W. Ward suffered first
and second degree burns on his
legs and J.P. Love, T. R. Fuller
and F. Andrews were overcome
by smoke. Firemen Ward, Love
and Fuller were manning the
ladder truck, which lacked any
type of compressed breathing air
equipment. The extended period
of time operating in the thermal
column caused their injuries.
Andrews’ injuries were caused by
a roof collapse as he was being
lowered through a hole in the
roof to check fire conditions.
For close to three hours crews
battled the blaze, and despite
their tremendous efforts both
The Glamor Shop and Apples
Shoe Shop were totally destroyed.
While officials determined the
fire originated in The Glamor
Shop, the exact cause of the fire
was never determined. The fire’s
damages were estimated to be
more than $250,000.
Looking Back:
Downtown Burlington Burns Twice: 1918 and 1964
The Fire & Rescue Journal
Looking Forward...
What is Accreditation Worth?
by Tim Bradley, Senior Deputy State Fire Marshal
Many people are aware
that almost all of North
Carolina’s Fire and
Rescue certification programs are
accredited by the International
Fire Service Accreditation
Congress (IFSAC), and several
of our programs were recently
accredited by the National Board
on Fire Service Professional
Qualifications (NBFSPQ),
or the old Pro-Board. We are
occasionally asked the question:
“Is what we sacrifice in the area
of usability of the program
worth the price to become
accredited?” In many cases
people use accreditation as a
cop-out to explain why we do
certain things regarding testing.
In truth, we do certain things
regarding testing because they are
the right things to do to have a
creditable program. We achieve
accreditation because we do the
right things.
A good example is the reason
our Firefighter and Rescue Tech
programs are not accredited by
NBFSPQ, and haven’t been since
we first applied in 1988. The
NBFSPQ requires that a different
instructor be utilized to do the
practical testing, complete and
separate from the instructor who
teaches the class. The fact that our
classes and testing are conducted
outside the auspices of a central
facility makes it terribly difficult
to accomplish that separation. In
that light, accreditation by the
Board didn’t seem worth the cost
to restructure our entire system.
Accreditation is a valuable tool,
but not at any cost. The main
focus is to make our programs
valid, or to give them credibility.
That most often will result in
accreditation.
In view of recent questions
concerning the practicality of
accreditation, it may be good for
us to review some of the reasons
why schools, colleges, hospitals,
etc., all see accreditation as a
necessary tool for delivering a
quality program.
Fire and Rescue organizations
serving the public are being held
more and more accountable
for their actions, and are being
opened to more public scrutiny
than ever before. As with private
companies and corporations,
the public emergency service
organization is being judged
not on the availability of their
product or service alone, but the
quality as well. Therefore, it is
not acceptable for equipment and
manpower to simply be available,
but the quality of delivery by the
manpower and equipment must
be at an acceptable level. There
are numerous avenues by which
to judge equipment quality,
including standards, test data,
warranties, and experience with
the particular type of equipment.
Manpower, as well, can be judged
by several different fashions.
Training, certification and
accreditation of certification are
tools to assist in these efforts.
Certification is a means by
which organizations may attest
authoritatively that an individual
has met, either through training
or experience, the requirements of
a given standard on a given date.
It is not simply a measure of the
amount of training an individual
has received, but the amount
the individual has retained and
demonstrated in a controlled
testing atmosphere.
Accreditation is a status granted
to an educational institution or
certification program that has
been found to meet or exceed
stated criteria of educational
quality. In the United States,
accreditation is voluntarily sought
by institutions and programs, and
is conferred by non-governmental
bodies. IFSAC and NBFSPQ are
examples.
The benefactors of training,
certification, and accreditation
are the members of the fire and
rescue service, for each in its own
way is an assurance of quality.
Certification doesn’t always have
a direct impact on the quality
of the training, since you can
have good quality training in
an area that certification doesn’t
exist. It does however, impact
it indirectly, since it establishes
a standard delivery and testing
mechanism, and the delivery is
in most cases consistent with a
standard. Certification itself helps
to verify the quality of training by
demonstrating that the training
created a learning experience
by the individual, since he/she
was able to perform the learned
material against established test
criteria. Accreditation doesn’t
affect the individual as directly as
certification, since the individual
himself is not accredited, but is
certified. The way accreditation
affects the individual is by
verifying that the testing process
by which the individual was
judged, has been found by
educational experts in that field to
be of fair, sound and substantial
quality as measured against
standard educational criteria
and the particular certification
standard. However, it must
be kept clearly in mind that
rescue technicians, firefighters,
instructors, officers, etc., do not
become accredited; they become
certified. In general, certifying
agencies (or programs of
instruction) receive accreditation;
individuals are certified for having
completed an accredited program.
Clearly an individual can derive
satisfaction from the knowledge
that he/she has completed a
program of instruction that has
been evaluated and deemed
worthy by an objective and
independent accrediting body.
One misconception about
accreditation is that reciprocity, or
the transferability of certificates,
is the reason for accreditation. It
is true that once you are certified
by an accredited organization,
it makes your certification
transferable to almost any other
accredited entity. This may be
a benefit for those who look to
move, or are in a transitional job
such as the military, but it is not
the primary reason for getting a
program accredited. It is simply a
benefit of that accreditation.
Accreditation leads to an
increase in professionalism and
that, in and of itself, is a desirable
end. Professional conduct in its
operations by any organization
leads that organization’s service
community and those affiliated
with it to hold the organization
and its personnel in higher regard.
You wouldn’t send your child to a
school that wasn’t accredited, and
you would not knowingly go to
a hospital that wasn’t accredited.
What then, is the justification for
sending a rescuer or firefighter
to be trained by someone whose
programs are not certifiable and
accredited?
Accreditation at any cost is too
expensive, but measured against
reasonable changes in testing
practices, it is an invaluable
tool. There is some comfort and
assurance in the realization that
the people measuring you as
an individual for certification
against a standard have also been
measured against a standard as
well and found acceptable.
The benefactors of training,
certification, and accreditation are
the members of the fire and rescue
service, for each in its own way is
an assurance of quality.
Spring 2008
OSFM Welcomes Two New Employees
Matthew Thorpe, Fire and Rescue
Training Specialist, Research and
Program Development Division —
Matt Thorpe is a 15-year
veteran of the fire service, and
before joining OSFM, he spent
his career working for the
City of King Fire Department
where he moved up the
ranks to assistant chief. He is
currently enrolled at Fayetteville
Technical Community College
working toward a degree in
fire protection technology.
Matt also holds numerous
state certifications including Fire
Instructor III, Fire Officer III and
Fire Inspector III. In his spare
time, Matt loves to fly fish in the
creek beds and rivers of North
Carolina. He lives in King with
his wife Cyndi and their daughters
Amber and Jordan.
Mike Hejduk, Code Consultant,
Engineering and Codes Division —
Mike Hejduk brings extensive
experience to OSFM’s State
Property and Plans Review
section. He holds five Level III
inspection certificates and was
chief building official and planner
and zoning administrator for the
Town of Southern Shores for the
past 10 years. A 1979 graduate of
the U.S. Coast Guard Academy
with a bachelor’s degree in Ocean
Engineering, he was stationed in
Seattle, Wash., Governor’s Island,
N.Y., and at the Coast Guard
headquarters in Washington,
D.C. Following his service, Mike
worked for private industry as
a contractor with the Navy’s
AEGIS Cruiser Shipbuilding
Program in Arlington, Va., and
for an engineering firm in North
Carolina. He and his wife, Brenda,
have been happily married for
more than 20 years and have four
children. While not at work, Mike
stays busy: He has completed
several marathons, is learning to
play the guitar, enjoys reading and
has plans to earn a master’s degree
and write a novel in the next 10
years.
Mike Hejduk
Matthew Thorpe
In an effort to assist
fire chiefs, fire officers,
and other interested
personnel, the North Carolina
Association of Fire Chiefs in
cooperation with the Office of
State Fire Marshal developed
the 2008 Edition of the
North Carolina Fire Service
Reference Manual. The manual
provides an updated reference
of state resources, agencies and
other information relative to
statewide fire protection.
Building on the original
manual that was developed
to provide fire chiefs with
information about daily
operations, expansion of services
and firefighter benefits, the
updated version now includes
sample job descriptions,
contracts and fire service
forms in addition to previous
content. Future editions are
anticipated to include sample
standard operating guidelines
and annexation contracts.
This manual will
be beneficial to those
departments that are
just starting out and
departments wanting
to update their current
practices. While the
2008 edition is currently
available, the manual is a
living document and
will continue to be
updated as needed.
Your suggestions and
input are welcome
and necessary in the
development process to
maintain a current and
useful document. To
make sure all suggestions
are incorporated, a
committee will be formed
of volunteer, combination
and paid chiefs to oversee
the manual’s continued
upkeep. If you are
interested in serving on
the review team, contact
Kenneth Mullen at
ncafc@suddenlink.net.
Collaboration was a key
component in developing
this comprehensive manual
for North Carolina’s fire
service. Special thanks
to OSFM’s Tim Bradley,
Keith McLeod, Chris Best
and Karen Holder for their
hard work and dedication
to completing the reference
manual!
Kenneth Mullen is the executive
director of the N.C. Association of
Fire Chiefs
2008 N.C. Fire Service Reference Manuals Available
To download a copy of the new 2008 Edition of
the North Carolina Fire Service Reference Manual,
visit www.ncafc.com.
10
The Fire & Rescue Journal
Q: How do I determine the
Needed Fire Flow for my
District?
A: The foundation to
any fire department’s
NCRRS survey is
determining the department’s
needed fire flow, or the amount
of water considered necessary to
control a major fire in a specific
building. The amount of water is
expressed in gallons per minute
(GPM) at 20 PSI, or pounds per
square inch, residual pressure for a
duration from two to four hours.
To figure out your needed
fire flow, first determine the size
of the building by measuring
the effective area in square feet.
Measure the length and width
of the building; if a building has
multiple levels, all stories above
the first floor will be calculated
at 50 percent of the effective
area. For example, calculate the
effective area for Building X, a
two-story building, with the first
floor equaling 2,000 square feet
and the second floor equaling
2,000 square feet: 2,000 + (2,000
x .50) = 3,000 square feet total
effective area.
Once you have the effective
square feet, calculate the
construction factor (Ci) with
the following formula. Note: the
minimum value of Ci is 500 GPM
and the calculated value of Ci is
rounded to the nearest 250 GPM.
The final factor
necessary for determining the
needed fire flow is the occupancy
factor. This relates to the
building’s contents and primary
use; the greater potential for fire
due to a building’s contents, the
higher the occupancy factor will
be for the final GPM needed for
a particular building. Use the
chart below for the occupancy
combustibility class and the
occupancy factor rate.
Once
the final
needed fire
flow is figured,
several important factors can be
determined including the basic
fire flow and engine needs and
the pumping capacity. The basic
fire flow and engine needs allow
your department to determine
how many engines it has and
how many will be needed for
incident response. If you have
more engines than needed, reserve
engines are credited in the survey.
Knowing the pumping capacity
is achieved by combining the
pump capacity of each engine
and applying it towards the basic
fire flow. Finally, the needed fire
flow will determine if automatic
aid engines will be credited. If
the basic fire flow calls for more
engines than a department has
available and the department
currently utilizes automatic aid,
then automatic aid engines
can be
used
to complement
the needed fire flow. This
will give the department full
credit for engine pump capacity.
Determining needed fire flows
throughout your district is a vital
part of the basic fire flow and
the engine needs during your fire
department’s fire response rating
survey. Whether you are perform-ing
pre-fire inspections or con-ducting
a building construction
class, this is an easy tool that all
departments should perform prior
to your next survey. For more
information about this issue, con-tact
the Rating and Inspections
Division at 919-661-5880 or visit
www.ncdoi.com/osfm.
Bryant Waters is a fire ratings
inspector with OSFM.
Calculating the Needed Fire Flow for Your District
Inspection Tips
C i = 1 8 F ( A i ) 0 . 5
A = Effective square feet
F = Coefficient related to the class of construction:
-- 1.5 for Construction Class 1 (Frame)
-- 1.0 for Construction Class 2 (Joisted Masonry)
-- 0.8 for Construction Class 3 (Non-Combustible)
and Construction Class 4 (Masonry Non-
Combustible)
-- 0.6 for Construction Class 5 (Modified Fire
Resistive) and Construction Class 6 (Fire
Resistive)
OCCUPANCY F A C TO R C L A S S O C C U P A N C Y F A C T OR ( O i )
C-1 (Non-Combustible) 0.75
C-2 (Limited Combustible) 0.85
C-3 (Combustible) 1.00
C-4 (Free Burning) 1.15
C-5 (Rapid Burning) 1.25
South Central High School has a total effective area of 65,400
square feet. The high school is constructed of block masonry
construction. The high school has an occupancy load of school
desks, filing cabinets and computers; it is considered to have
limited combustibility due to its contents and construction.
Follow through the scenario and formulas to see how the needed
fire flow is determined for South Central High School.
Construction Factor: Ci = 18F (Ai) 0.5
Ci = 18 (0.8) (65,400) 0.5
Ci = 3682.57 GPM
Final Construction Factor rounded to nearest 250
is 3,500 GPM.
Occupancy Factor: = Ci x Oi
3,500 GPM x 0.85
(Limited Combustible) = 2,975 GPM
Final Occupancy Factor rounded to nearest 250
is 3,000 GPM.
South Central High School’s final needed fire flow
is 3,000 GPM.
The following scenario will help you in determining a needed fire flow of a high school — a structure type that you will find
in almost every district in North Carolina.
Spring 2008
11
...continued from page 1.
Safety Educator Levels I, II and
III. Once the conference began,
participants attended workshops
that discussed residential
sprinklers, the Juvenile Fire Busters
program and even a course on
how to deal with the media during
emergency response and more.
Guest speakers Judy Comoletti,
NFPA’s vice president of public
education, and Amy Acton with
the Phoenix Society for Burn
Survivors, updated attendees
on current public education
campaigns and the upcoming
World Burn Congress in Raleigh.
Bonnie Woodruff also spoke to
the group about the importance
of fire prevention efforts; Bonnie’s
son Ben died in the tragic
UNC fraternity house fire
on Mother’s Day 1996.
Those who have shown
exceptional dedication to
the fire and life safety field
were honored at an awards
banquet. Included in the
ceremony was the newly
established B.T. Fowler
Lifetime Achievement
award. For more
information about this
distinction read the related
article on page 5.
Jan Parker is an injury
prevention specialist with
OSFM.
Congratulations to the following SKNC award winners!
Safe Kids Rutherford County, Chapter of the Year
Safe Kids Cleveland County, Coalition of the Year
David Poythress, Chapter Coordinator of the Year
Judy Hawkins, Coalition Coordinator of the Year
Safe Kids Charlotte-Mecklenberg, Outstanding Safe Kids Event
Safe Kids Guilford County, Most Creative Safe Kids Event
Safe Kids Gaston County, Most Improved Safe Kids
Charlene Proctor, Member of the Year
Irvin Robinson, Member of the Year
Dr. Lewis Margolis, Shining Star
Betty Johnsey, Outstanding Safe Kids Leadership
J. Darrell Jernigan, GHSP Outstanding Safe Kids Sponsor
Kelly Ransdell, Insurance Commissioner Jim Long, Paul Jones and Deb Stout take a moment to reflect on the
accomplishments of Safe Kids North Carolina.
In June OSFM’s Web site will
outline information about how fire and
rescue personnel can attend the next
National Fire Academy State Weekend
in Emmitsburg, Md. The curriculum is
designed to strengthen the fire and rescue
service community in North Carolina by
providing education, personal networking
and a shared collegial experience. If you’ve
never attended this weekend event, it’s a
trip worth taking in 2009.
Earlier this year 240 members of the
North Carolina fire and rescue service
traveled up north for the National Fire
Academy on the U.S. Fire Administration’s
107-acre campus. While there, participants
attended various classes including
Strategy and Tactic for Initial Company
Operations, Leadership III, Training
Operations for Small Departments,
Juvenile Firesetter I, and NIMS Incident
Command for the Fire Service.
The time to start thinking about 2009’s
National Fire Academy State Weekend is
now. For more information, remember
to check out OSFM’s Web site in June at
www.ncdoi.com/osfm.
During the 2008 National Fire Academy weekend, OSFM staff poses in front of the new memorial dedicated to the events of Sept. 11, 2001.
The To Lift a Nation memorial was created by sculptor Stan Watts and modeled from the Bergen Record photograph by Thomas E. Franklin.
Coming Soon: 2009 N.C. National Fire Academy Information
1202 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-1202
(919) 661-5880
www.ncdoi.com/osfm
The Fire & Rescue Journal
RT Structural Collapse Qualification was held
at Robeson Community College on Jan. 18-19.
Thomasville Rescue and the Community College
provided the equipment for the intensive two-day
practical skill oriented class.
(Right) Corey Roberts, Richard Caudill
and Bruce Butner explain
cribbing technique.
Forty nine students participated in the
North Carolina Breathing Equipment School at
Gaston College, March 10-14.
(Above-Left) John Faulk from Belmont Fire Department exits the structure
after performing a vent/enter/search scenario. (Above-Right) Firefighters
assist Bill Blankenship from Chapel Hill Fire Department after he completes
the consumption course.
The North Carolina Spring High Angle Rescue School was held March 28-30 at
Stone Mountain State Park in Pilot.
(Left) Josh Conner from High Point Fire Department gets ready to rappel.